A Look at Imagery in Nafseh al-Masdoor

Nafseh al-Masdoor by Shahabedin Mohammad Zeidari Nasavi is one of the masterpieces of Persian elaborate prose. This book consists of the interior monologues and memoires of a sad writer who describes his self-exile and wanderings during the brutal intrusion of Mongols through an imagist language. The elaborate language of the writer which is full of images casts light on some dimensions of the history of Iran the best. The aim of this study is to investigate the place of imagery and its various dimensions in this work via descriptive-analytic method. Doing so، after a brief introduction on the background of the work and the aims of the study، the main issues of this research are discussed in the three categories of techniques of imagery، the functions of imagery and the kinds of images. The results of this study show that the author has created the images which either reflects his artistic experiences or provokes the sympathy and accompaniment of the addressee through forming special image centers besides dispersed images in the text، strengthening imagery by parts of speech and using linguistic and rhetorical capacities of the prose. These images are mostly formal، positive and congruent with the structure of the work and attitude of the author.